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Cyprus Foreign Minister Markos Kyprianou has described his meeting with
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as friendly and constructive.

In statements after the meeting, Kyprianou said that he had the chance
to present the positions and concerns of the Cypriot government, its
expectations of the procedure that is underway for a solution to the
Cyprus problem.

Kyprianou also said he told the SG that the key to a solution of the
Cyprus issue lies with Ankara.

In his statements, Kyprianou said his meeting with the SG was very
constructive and friendly which gave him the opportunity to inform the
Secretary-General of the positions, the views, the concerns and the
hopes of our side in this new effort to solve the Cyprus problem.

Concerning the joint statement read by UN Secretary-General Special
Advisor on Cyprus, Alexander Downer at the end of the talks on Tuesday
between President of the Republic Demetris Christofias and Turkish
Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat, the Foreign Minister said it is very
important that this is treated as what it is, being a joint statement,
not an interim agreement and not anything more than what it actually is
because this is the philosophy of the negotiations, that nothing is
agreed until everything is agreed.

To a question what does yesterdays joint statement mean for him,
Kyprianou said it is a factual statement. A fact. It presents where we
stand today, what has been done until now. It does not have a legal
significant but it is a listing of facts and of course it stays on the
basic principles in the general description and each side as the
statement says can proceed with more detailed analysis to the
respective communities of what has been discussed or agreed.

He also said that although there has been convergence of views in the
three chapters that are referred in the statement, at the same time
there is still disagreement in the chapters themselves but also in the
other subjects. So I would say that its encouraging message that theres
been progress and that we have moved forward but at the same time sends
the message that there is still a long way to go and a lot of work to
be done until we can reach a comprehensive settlement. So we still have
a long way to go.

The Foreign Minister said he and Ban discussed the difficulties that we
will be facing in the next phase of the negotiations entering some very
difficult subjects and I referred particularly to the very important
role of Turkey in this process.

He further said he had the opportunity to refer specifically to the
issue of Famagusta and the fenced area of Varosha. Beginning of the
High-level Agreement of Kyprianou and Denktash of 79 and
Security-Council Resolutions that followed after that, even reports of
the Secretary-General until very recently, state that this can and
should be treated as a separate issue in relation to the rest of the
Cyprus problem, Minister Kyprianou said.

And we also had a resolution of the European Parliament in this
respect. The issue of Varosha is an issue that falls directly under the
responsibility of the Turkish Government and not the Turkish Cypriots
and in that sense we asked the Secretary-General to help with the
effort of convincing the Turkish Government to allow UN experts to
enter the fenced area, to begin the study on the structural engineering
and architectural situation with a view of one day to be able to open
the city, reconstructing it and allowing its inhabitants to return.

However, he said that in the first phase, given that Varosha has been a
ghost town for the last 36 years, the first step would be to allow the
UN experts to enter the area. I think it is a humanitarian issue, it is
not a political issue, it is not something that can be dealt with at
the table of the negotiations between the two sides on the island. That
is the responsibility of the Turkish Government so we asked the
Secretary-General to encourage the Turkish Government to be positive in
this respect, Kyprianou noted.

The Cypriot FM said it is very important someone who is an
interlocutor, someone who is very constructive and supports this target
of the bizonal, bicommunal federation but at the same time it is
important to have an active constructive role on the part of the
Turkish Government. Especially on the subjects that will follow in the
next phase being the issues of security, of territorial adjustments and
so forth.

Regarding the Turkish governments role, Kyprianou said so far is acting
more as an observer. But we believe that even though the Turkish
government is not sitting at the negotiating table, is a party to this
conflict and therefore we would like to see the Turkish government
sending more positive messages and taking more positive and firm
positions on the various issues. Not just to send a positive signal to
the Greek Cypriot community but also to reinforce what is being done by
the Turkish Cypriot leadership. We had the statements by the Prime
Minister recently. These are encouraging signals but of course, at the
end of the day what counts is what is said at the negotiations and not
in interviews. So we expect to see these signals being transformed to
negotiating positions when the negotiations resume.

To a question what he thinks will happen if Talat is not elected in the
so called elections in the Turkish occupied north for the new
leadership of the Turkish Cypriot community, Kyprianou remarked that
there is no question that this would complicate matters and things
would be difficult noting that both candidates have a different
approach. So we expect to have complications and then the role of
Turkey will become even more important in that case. So even though the
Turkish Cypriots will decide for themselves at the same time we can see
complications if theres a change of the interlocutor in case that they
do not follow what has been done so far and try to change the basis of
the solution, he added.

Referring to the position expressed by the other candidate in the so
called elections in the occupied areas of Cyprus, Dervis Eroglu, that
he is committed to the negotiating process, Kyprianou replied it is
positive that he stated that he will not abandon the negotiation and he
will continue the negotiations. At the same time, he noted, what is
worrying is that we havent seen any commitment made regarding the basis
of these negotiations which was decided already in March of 2008. So
this raises some concerns, he noted.

Kyprianou said that there is commitment by both sides and the Turkish
Government that the negotiations continue. He also said he did not
think the Secretary-General is preparing anything given that the nature
of this procedure, which is between the two communities is facilitated
by the United Nations. So the United Nations will continue supporting
this process and wed like to think that the results of this electoral
process in April will not change this procedure and we will be able to
resume from where the two leaders have left of today (Tuesday). But if
things change we will have then to revisit the whole issue, he
remarked.

Cyprus, which joined the EU in 2004, has been divided since 1974, when
Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third.

The leaders of the two communities have been engaged in UN-led direct
negotiations since September 2008, aiming to reunite the island.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said the UN is committed to
supporting the process that would lead to a comprehensive settlement of
the Cyprus problem.

The UNSGs position was conveyed by a UN spokesperson, referring to the
meeting Ban had earlier in the day with Cypriot Foreign Minister Markos
Kyprianou.

He said, The Secretary-General thanked the Foreign Minister for his
personal participation in the International Donors Conference ``towards
a new future for Haiti`` that will be held on Wednesday.

On the Cyprus problem, the Spokesperson said Ban noted positively the
joint statement issued by the two leaders on 30 March 2010, which
underscores that important progress in the chapters of governance and
power-sharing, European Union and economic matters had been achieved.

He was also encouraged by the start of the construction work on
Yesilirimak/Limnitis road on Monday.

British Minister for Europe Chris Bryant has urged Turkey to fulfill
the commitments it has made to the EU with regard to the Ankara
Protocol and the recognition of the government of Cyprus.

In statements on Tuesday, Bryant said he fully agrees that it is a
shame that Cyprus is still a divided island and Nicosia is a divided
city.

He said British government fully supports the ongoing talks, noting
there have to be concessions by both sides. People have to give way on
different elements. This takes political courage from political
leaders, Bryan remarked.

At the moment, he added, we have two leaders who are able to do
business with each other. They stake their reputation in bringing about
a concession, Bryant remarked.

Regarding Turkey, he said it should be fulfilling its commitments that
it made to the European Union with regard to the Ankara Protocol and
the recognition of the Cyprus Government.

Bryant added that if there is an element that we, as a guarantor power,
is an issue we will not stand in the way for a solution.